It is so easy for pots and pans storage to become cluttered. They are bulky and awkwardly shaped and don’t always fit together like Legos. Quite contradictorily, easy access to your pots and pans is essential for a smooth kitchen, and you ideally want to have them close to the cooking zone. If you want to store your pots and pans in a way that makes your kitchen an efficient place, you have to have a plan.
Conduct an Audit
The first step to organizing your pots and pans is to do an audit. Take stock of the pots and pans you have, how many you have and their size. Determine which ones are in good condition and have corresponding lids. Do you need as many as you have? Which ones do you use most frequently? All of these will affect how you store your pots and pans.
Creative Ways to Store Your Pots and Pans
Everyone stores their pots and pans a little differently. The methods of organization are dependent on the size and layout of the kitchen, the number of pots and pans they have, and how frequently they cook. Consider which of the following ways to store your pots and pans is right for your space. You may even choose to combine a few of them.
A Clean Sweep with Cabinets
While not very creative, our first suggestion for storing your pots and pans is tried and true. If you store your pots and pans in a cabinet, you can opt for a more uncluttered looking kitchen. You can use your built-in cabinets or a free-standing unit dedicated to the purpose. You might even consider storing them in the kitchen island to keep them close to cooking stations for easy cleanup.
Shelf It
Concealing all your pots and pans behind cabinet doors can help your kitchen have a clean and uncluttered appearance. Alternatively, you put your cooking equipment on display, creating an eclectic array on shelves around the kitchen. Here too you have a lot of choice in your shelves, including floating or freestanding shelves.
Displaying pots and pans in this way looks best when all the cookery is pretty uniform. You might try arranging them according to size or making sure all the handles face the same way to make things look neat. If you showcase your pots and pans in this way, you can add lighting to really emphasize them.
Make It Deep
Deep drawers are another effective way to store your pots and pans. If you have deep drawers with smooth runners, utilizing them can make your kitchen storage more ergonomic. You can also include pan organizers, providing you with a birds’ eye view of all your cooking ware without rifling through the drawers.
Hang It All
The ceiling is an oft-untapped storage unit. If you like the look of your pots and pans, you can hang them from a pot rack on the ceiling or on a pot rail above the stove. Pot racks can be in the center of the room or above your countertop while pot rails can even be installed on your range hood. Hanging storage is good for pots and pans that are on the smaller end, especially if you use them on a regular basis.
Try a Peg Board
Peg board is a clever way to make use of the vertical space in your kitchen that would not otherwise be used, especially if the space doesn’t have enough room for a cabinet or a shelf. Peg boards allow you to display pots, pans, and other utensils in a completely customizable arrangement. Simply place the pegs as you will, and you can hang the handles on them or rest the pots and pans on them.
Get Creative with Corner Units
Corner cabinets are common, though they can be tricky to navigate. Expandable storage makes awkwardly crouching and reaching a thing of the past. You might also use a lazy Susan or add a shelf on your cabinet door.
Expand Your Territory
Have you ever considered storing your pots and pans outside of the kitchen? While this may initially seem counterintuitive, it may be a great way to clear up space. The likelihood that you use every pot and pan and baking dish in your kitchen every day is very low, even if you are a chef. Even if you choose to store your pots and pans close to the range, you can stash things like the waffle iron or crock pot in the pantry or sideboard.
Don’t Neglect the Lids
As you decide on clever ways to store your pots and pans, don’t forget about their lids. Lids can also be difficult to work with. Like their more cook-worthy counterparts, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. On top of that, many of them are also domed and almost certainly have some kind of knob or handle on top. This makes them almost impossible to stack and very likely to slip around.
You can employ many of the same methods to store lids as you do for storing pots and pans. For example, peg boards are great for storing lids. If you are looking for something new, try putting a pan protector between each lid to keep them from scraping against each other. If you want to store your lids upright, a lid rack will fit the bill. You can put these on shelves, in cabinets, or in deep drawers.
